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Tour Rundown: Casey stumbles, Bubba wins his third Travelers Championship

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7 years ago

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The third week of June 2K18 brought a respite from the men’s U.S. Open madness. The PGA Tour traveled a bit north, to Connecticut, while the Webbies went to Kansas. The Champions tour found itself in the Cheese state, while the Euros trekked to Germany. Oh, and the LPGA Tour took the week off, preparing for its Women’s PGA Championship this week. After the mayhem of Shinnecock Hills, and with anticipation high for the Open Championship at Carnoustie next month, a bit of leisure was a fit prescription. Here’s a rundown of all the week’s scores.

Watson leads parade of horses for courses at Travelers

The Travelers Championship was one of the first to practice awarding spots to highly-ranked amateurs. For that reason, golfers who might normally skip Connecticut, feel a loyalty to the tournament. Bubba Watson wasn’t one of them, but his affinity for the course is evident. His third career win at TPC River Highlands came by 3 strokes on Sunday, over a  quartet of runners-up. Bubba’s card wasn’t clean on the week, but he found a way to make a few more birdies (and a few less bogeys) each round, than the competition. A third of the lanky Floridian’s PGA Tour titles have come along the banks of the Connecticut river, so expect another one soon.

Stewart Cink doesn’t win often on tour (apologies to 59-year old Tom Watson) but he tends to contend at the Travelers. The same affection can be applied to J.B. Holmes, Paul Casey and young Beau Hossler. Those four edged their way past Kevin Tway and Brian Harman, to 14-under and a tie for second place. Cink birdied 7 of his first 10 holes on Sunday, and made 3 more coming home. Those would have brought him within a whisker of the magical 59, but alas, he had 2 ill-advised bogeys during that same, closing stretch. Hossler charged at the end, with 4 birdies over the closing sextet. If any young golfer catches our eye these days, as the next to break through for victory, it is the Californian-turned-UTexas alum. He lost to Ian Poulter in Houston this spring, and should break through before trees shed their leaves.

Of all the also-rans, it was a gutted Casey who leaves town with regret. A day after starting his own 62, the Englishman stumbled home with 72. He made one birdie on day 4, and that was at the 1st hole. Still in the mix at the closing bell, the expat bogeyed 2 of his final 3 holes to complete his wretched story.

Schnell accepts props for first Web.Com Tour title

Brady Schnell received a decorative propeller as trophy for his inaugural Web win, but we suspect a print of the closing hole might have been more suitable. After flirting with the cut line on Friday, Schnell finished with a firm handshake, including birdie at the last. On Sunday, he birdied the hole 2 times in a 3-man playoff. The first helped to send Scott Pinckney away, and the second dismissed Brandon Hagy. Hagy went out in 30 on Sunday, but could apply enough tour sauce coming home, to end the event in regulation. Pinckney held the reigns on Saturday night, but 2 bogey bumps over the final 7 holes undid his fine week of work. With the trophy, Schnell jumped all the way from 68th to 12th in the chase for a PGA Tour card. Both Hagy and Pinckney moved inside the top 60 on the same list.

McCarron’s first 2018 win comes at American Family

Scott McCarron came out on PGA Tour Champions in 2016, and rolled 2 wins during that inaugural campaign. When he followed it up with a stellar 2017, including his first senior major among 4 triumphs, aficionados wondered if a dynasty was brewing. Since September, the McCarron train left the tracks for the yard, but it seems to be back. The California native held off home-stater Jerry Kelly by a stroke, thanks to a 3-birdie run from holes 14-16 on day 3. The victory was his 7th on the senior circuit, and elevated him to 3rd on the season points list, behind leader Kelly and Bernhard Langer. With a slim lead on the home hole, McCarron stuck an approach from a slightly-hanging lie to 15 feet, then 2-putted for the win.

Esteban Toledo had the 36-hole lead, but he found out what a closing 73 gets you on the Champions Tour: very little. The 4-time winner on Tour Champions faded away with 3 front-nine bogeys on Sunday. In addition to Kelly, Colin Montgomerie (64) and Steve Stricker (65) finished strong, joining defending champion Fred Couples at 13-under, one behind Kelly, in a third-place tie.

Wallace wins second of campaign at BMW International

Matt Wallace inserted himself into a trend of young Englishmen breaking through. Along with lads like Andy Sullivan and Andrew “Beef” Johnston, Wallace has quietly started a noteworthy, professional golf career. His third career title, and 2nd of 2018, came by one stroke over a trio of dissimilar runners-up. A resurgent Martin Kaymer nearly made good in front of the home crowd. Although he birdied the last, a bogey at the penultimate hole cost him a playoff spot. Mikko Korhonen won his 1st tour title a fortnight ago, and nearly doubled-down in Germany. After birdies at 15 through 17, the Fin could not add a 4th at the closer, and matched only Kaymer.

Try as Wallace and company might, they could not steal the spotlight from the capricious Dane, Thorbjorn Olesen. The Mighty One’s erratic week went like this: open with 73, then improve by 5 strokes to make the cut. Drop 9 strokes higher on Saturday to enter afterthought status. Close Sunday 16 strokes better with 61 and tie for second. Now…breathe. Olesen had 9 birdies and 1 eagle on day four, elevating his standing by 40 places over the final 18 holes. In the end, it was Wallace who accepted the hardware and moved into 11th spot in the season-long Race To Dubai.

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Ronald Montesano writes for GolfWRX.com from western New York. He dabbles in coaching golf and teaching Spanish, in addition to scribbling columns on all aspects of golf, from apparel to architecture, from equipment to travel. Follow Ronald on Twitter at @buffalogolfer.

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Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

Published

3 weeks ago

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Aug 4, 2025

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I’m going to gush in this intro paragraph, to get the emo stuff done early. I’ve not pulled harder for a professional to win, than Cameron Young. I coach golf in New York state, and each spring, my best golfers head to a state championship in Poughkeepsie. I first saw Cameron there as a 9th grade student. I saw him three more times after that. I reconnecected with Coach Haas from Wake Forest, an old interview subject from my days on the Old Gold and Black, the Wake newspaper. He was there to watch Cameron. After four years at Wake Forest, Young won on the Korn Ferry Tour, made it to the big tour, almost won two majors, almost won five other events, and finally got the chalice about 25 minutes from the Wake campus. Congratulations, Cameron. You truly are a glass of the finest. #MotherSoDear

OK, let’s move on to the Tour Rundown. The major championship season closed this week in Wales, with the Women’s Open championship. The PGA Tour bounced through Greensboror, N.C., while the PGA Tour Americas hit TO (aka, Toronto) for a long-winded event. The Korn Ferry lads made a stop in Utah, one of just two events for that tour in August. The many-events, golf season is winding down, as we ease from summer toward fall in the northern hemisphere. Let’s bask in the glory of an August sunrise, and run down a quartet of events from the first weekend of the eighth month.

LET/LPGA @ Women’s Open: Miyu bends, but she doesn’t break

Royal Porthcawl was not a known commodity in the major tournament community. The Welsh links had served as host to men’s senior opens, men’s amateurs, and Curtis and Walker Cups in prior years, but never an Open championship for the women or the men. The last-kept secret in UK golf was revealed once again to the world this week, as the best female golfers took to the sandy stage.

Mao Saigo, Grace Kim, Maja Stark, and Minjee Lee hoped to add a second major title to previous wins this season, but only Lee was able to finish inside the top ten. The 2025 playing of the Women’s Open gave us a new-faces gallery from day one. The Kordas and Thitikulls were nowhere to be found, and it was the Mayashitas, Katsus, and Lim Kims that secured the Cymru spotlight. The first round lead was held at 67 by two golfers. One of them battled to the end, while the other posted 81 on day two, and missed the cut. Sitting one shot behind was Miyu Yamashita.

On day two, Yamashita posted the round of the tournament. Her 65 moved her to the front of the aisle, in just her fourth turn around a women’s Open championship. With the pre-event favorites drifting off pace, followers narrowed into two camps: those on the side of an underdog, and others hoping for a weekend charge from back in the pack. In the end, we had a bit of both.

On Saturday, Yamashita bent with 74 on Saturday, offering rays of hope to her pursuing pack. England’s Charley Hull made a run on Sunday closing within one shot before tailing off to a T2 finish with Minami Katsu. Katsu posted the other 65 of the week, on Saturday, but could not overtake her countrywoman, Yamashita. wunderkind Lottie Woad needed one round in the 60s to find her pace, but could only must close-to’s, ending on 284 and a tie with Minjee for eighth.

On Sunday, Yamashita put away the thoughts of Saturday’s struggles, with three-under 33 on the outward half. She closed in plus-one 37, but still won by two, for a first Major and LPGA title.

PGA Tour @ Wyndham: Young gathers first title near home

Cameron Young grew up along the Hudson river, above metro New York, but he also calls Winston-Salem home. He spent four years as a student and athlete at Wake Forest University, then embarked on tour. This week in Greensboro, after a bit of a break, Young opened with 63-62, and revved the engine of Is this the week once more. Runner-up finishes at the Open, the PGA, and a handful of PGA Tour events had followers wonder when the day would come.

On Saturday, Young continued his torrid pace with 65, giving him a five-shot advantage over his closest pursuer. Sunday saw the Scarborough native open with bogey, then reel off five consecutive birdies to remind folks that his time had, at last, arrived. Pars to the 16th, before two harmless bogeys coming home, made Young the 1000th winner of an official PGA Tour event (dating back to before there was a PGA Tour) throughout history. What’s next? I have a suspicion, but I’m not letting on. Mac Meissner closed with 66 to finish solo 2nd, while Mark Hubbard and Alex Noren tied for third.

Korn Ferry Tour @ Utah Championship: Are you Suri it’s Julian?

Who knows exactly when the flower will bloom? Julian Suri played a solid careet at Duke University, then paid his dues on the world’s minor tours for three years. He won twice on two tours in Europe, in 2017. Since then, the grind has continued for the journeyman from New York city. At age 34, Suri broke through in Beehive state, outlasting another grinder (Spencer Levin) and four others, by two shots.

Taylor Montgomery began the week with 62, then posted 64, then 68, and finally, 70. That final round was his undoing. He finished in that second-place tie, two back of the leader. Trace Crowe, Barend Botha, and Kensei Hirata made up the last of the almost quintet. As for Suri, his Sunday play was sublime. His nines were 32 and 31, with his only radar blip a bogey at ten. He closed in style with one final birdie, to double his winning margin. Hogan bloomed late…might Suri?

PGA Tour Americas @ Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos – CBM Aggregates

Some tournament names run longer than others. This week in Toronto, at the Heathlands course at TPC Toronto, we might have seen the longest tournament title in recorded history. The OVOPBVCCBMA was a splendid affair. It saw three rounds of 62 on Thursday, but of those early risers, only Drew Goodman would stick around until the end. 64 was the low tally on day two, and two of those legionnaires managed to finish inside the top three at week’s end. Saturday brought a 63 from Patrick Newcomb, and he would follow with 64 on Sunday, to finish solo fourth.

Who, then, ended up winning the acronym of the year? It turns out that Carson Bacha had the right stuff in TeeOhhh. Bacha and Jay Card III posted 63 and 64, respectively, on day four, to tie for medalist honors at 23-under 261. Nathan Franks was one shot adrift, despite also closing with 63. If you didn’t go low on Sunday, it was about the check, not the championship.

Bacha and JC3 returned to the 18th hole twice in overtime. Card nearly chipped in from the thick stuff for birdie, while Bacha peeked and shoved a ten-feet attempt at the win. On the second go-round, Card was long with his approach, into the native grasses once more. He was unable to escape, and a routine par from the fairway was enough to earn the former Auburn golfers a first KFT title.

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 Wyndham Championship

Published

4 weeks ago

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Jul 29, 2025

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GolfWRX is live this week from the final event of the PGA Tour’s regular season, the Wyndham Championship.

Photos are flowing into the forums from Sedgefield Country Club, where we already have a GolfWRX spirit animal Adam Schenk WITB and plenty of putters for your viewing pleasure.

Check out links to all our photos below, which we’ll continue to update as more arrive.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.

 

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BK’s Breakdowns: Kurt Kitayama’s Winning WITB, 3M Open

Published

4 weeks ago

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Jul 28, 2025

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Kurt Kitayama just won his 2nd PGA Tour event at the 3M Open. Kurt is a Bridgestone staffer but with just the ball and bag. Here are the rest of the clubs he used to secure a win at the 2025 3M Open.

Driver: Titleist GT3 (11 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VF 7 TX

3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees, A3 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 TX

7-wood: Titleist GT1 (21 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 9 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P7CB (4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Newport 2 Tour Prototype
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy 1.0PT

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Bridgestone Tour B XS (with Mindset)

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